Genesis 3:19

3:19 By the sweat of your brow ¹  you will eat food

until you return to the ground, ² 

for out of it you were taken;

for you are dust, and to dust you will return.” ³ 

Proverbs 13:4

13:4 The appetite ⁴  of the sluggard ⁵  craves ⁶  but gets nothing,

but the desire of the diligent will be abundantly satisfied. ⁷ 

Proverbs 20:4

20:4 The sluggard will not plow ⁸  during the planting season, ⁹ 

so at harvest time he looks ¹⁰  for the crop ¹¹  but has nothing.

Proverbs 21:25

21:25 What the sluggard desires ¹²  will kill him, ¹³ 

for his hands ¹⁴  refuse to work.

Proverbs 24:30-34

24:30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,

by the vineyard of one who lacks wisdom. ¹⁵ 

24:31 I saw ¹⁶  that thorns had grown up all over it,

the ground ¹⁷  was covered with weeds,

and its stone wall was broken down.

24:32 When I saw this, I gave careful consideration to it; ¹⁸ 

I received instruction from what I saw: ¹⁹ 

24:33 “A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to relax,

24:34 and your poverty will come like a bandit,

and your need like an armed robber.” ²⁰ 

Proverbs 24:1

24:1 Do not envy evil people, ²¹ 

do not desire ²²  to be with them;

Proverbs 4:11

4:11 I will guide you ²³  in the way of wisdom

and I will lead you in upright paths. ²⁴ 

[3:19]  ¹ tn The expression “the sweat of your brow” is a metonymy, the sweat being the result of painful toil in the fields.

[3:19]  ² sn Until you return to the ground. The theme of humankind’s mortality is critical here in view of the temptation to be like God. Man will labor painfully to provide food, obviously not enjoying the bounty that creation promised. In place of the abundance of the orchard’s fruit trees, thorns and thistles will grow. Man will have to work the soil so that it will produce the grain to make bread. This will continue until he returns to the soil from which he was taken (recalling the creation in 2:7 with the wordplay on Adam and ground). In spite of the dreams of immortality and divinity, man is but dust (2:7), and will return to dust. So much for his pride.

[3:19]  ³ sn In general, the themes of the curse oracles are important in the NT teaching that Jesus became the cursed one hanging on the tree. In his suffering and death, all the motifs are drawn together: the tree, the sweat, the thorns, and the dust of death (see Ps 22:15). Jesus experienced it all, to have victory over it through the resurrection.

[13:4]  ⁴ tn The noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, traditionally “soul”) has a broad range of meanings, and here denotes “appetite” (e.g., Ps 17:9; Prov 23:3; Eccl 2:24; Isa 5:14; Hab 2:5; BDB 660 s.v. 5.c) or (2) “desire” (e.g., Deut 12:20; Prov 19:8; 21:10; BDB 660 s.v. 6.a).

[13:4]  ⁵ sn The contrast is between the “soul (= appetite) of the sluggard” (נַפְשׁוֹ עָצֵל, nafsho ’atsel) and the “soul (= desire) of the diligent” (נֶפֶשׁ חָרֻצִים, nefesh kharutsim) – what they each long for.

[13:4]  ⁶ tn The Hitpael verb means “to lust after; to crave.” A related verb is used in the Decalogue’s prohibition against coveting (Exod 20:17; Deut 5:21).

[13:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “will be made fat” (cf. KJV, NASB); NRSV “is richly supplied.”

[20:4]  ⁸ sn The act of plowing is put for the whole process of planting a crop.

[20:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the autumn”; ASV “by reason of the winter.” The noun means “autumn, harvest time.” The right time for planting was after the harvest and the rainy season of autumn and winter began.

[20:4]  ¹⁰ tn The Piel of the verb שָׁאַל (sha’al, “to ask”) means “to beg” or “to inquire carefully.” At the harvest time he looks for produce but there is none. The Piel might suggest, however, that because he did not plant, or did not do it at the right time, he is reduced to begging and will have nothing (cf. KJV, ASV; NASB “he begs during the harvest”).

[20:4]  ¹¹ tn The phrase “for the crop” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[21:25]  ¹² tn Heb “the desire of the sluggard” (so ASV, NASB). This phrase features a subject genitive: “what the sluggard desires.” The term תַּאֲוַת (ta’avat, “desire; craving”) is a metonymy of cause. The craving itself will not destroy the sluggard, but what will destroy him is what the craving causes him to do or not to do. The lazy come to ruin because they desire the easy way out.

[21:25]  ¹³ tn The verb תְּמִיתֶנּוּ (tÿmitennu) is the Hiphil imperfect with a suffix: “will kill him.” It is probably used hyperbolically here for coming to ruin (cf. NLT), although it could include physical death.

[21:25]  ¹⁴ sn “Hands” is figurative for the whole person; but “hands” is retained in the translation because it is often the symbol to express one’s ability of action.

[24:30]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “lacks heart”; KJV “understanding”; NAB, NASB, NLT “sense.”

[24:31]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew term וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, traditionally “and, lo” [KJV, ASV]) is a deictic particle that calls attention to what comes next. “And look” is too abrupt here; “I saw” calls attention to the field that was noticed.

[24:31]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “its face” (so KJV, ASV).

[24:32]  ¹⁸ sn Heb “I set my heart.” The “heart” represents the mind and the will combined; to “set” the mind and will means to give careful consideration to what was observed.

[24:32]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “I looked, I received instruction.” There are four verbs in the two parts of this verse: “I saw…I set…I saw…I received.” It is clear that the first two verbs in each half verse are the foundation for the next two. At the beginning of the verse the form is the preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive; it can be subordinated as a temporal clause to the next verb, probably to be identified as a preterite with the vav – “when I saw, I put.” The next two verbs are both perfect tenses; their construction would parallel the first half of the verse, even though there are no conjunctions here – “[when] I saw, I received.”

[24:34]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a man of shield.” This could refer to an armed warrior (so NRSV) but in this context, in collocation with the other word for “robber” in the previous line, it must refer to an armed criminal.

[24:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “evil men,” although the context indicates a generic sense.

[24:1]  ²² tn The Hitpael jussive is from the verb that means “to crave; to desire.” This is more of a coveting, an intense desire.

[4:11]  ²³ tn The form הֹרֵתִיךָ (horetikha) is the Hiphil perfect with a suffix from the root יָרָה (yarah, “to guide”). This and the parallel verb should be taken as instantaneous perfects, translated as an English present tense: The sage is now instructing or pointing the way.

[4:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in the tracks of uprightness”; cf. NAB “on straightforward paths.” Both the verb and the object of the preposition make use of the idiom – the verb is the Hiphil perfect from דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, related to “road; way”) and the object is “wagon tracks, paths.”